I Beg To Differ
by Loten
Summary: Prize for the 2000th reviewer of Chasing The Sun. Severus overhears Hermione speculating about his personal life; he finds her opinion rather insulting and decides to let her know just how wrong she is. Complete.


**I BEG TO DIFFER  
**

**_Obligatory Disclaimer: _**_I still don't own any of them.  
_

_**Author's Notes: **So we move on to the prize for the 2000th reviewer of **Chasing the Sun, KellyJoy. **She gave me several prompts to pick from and the one I went for was "A few months post DH: Severus overhears Hermione having a private conversation. During this conversation Hermione communicates her belief that Snape is surely a virgin due to his unwavering devotion to Lily Evans. Masculine pride insulted, Severus sets out to prove to Hermione that she's mistaken."_

_**Warnings: **Extensive smut, since that's what I was asked for!  
_

* * *

**"Darkness is more productive of sublime ideas than light."  
**- Edmund Burke.**  
**

* * *

Grimmauld Place had not become appreciably less depressing since the end of the war, Severus reflected idly as he descended the stairs. About the only real positive change, in his view, was that they had finally lifted that horrific charm Moody had laid by the front door; he had nearly collapsed the first time he'd had to sneak in and been confronted by the dusty mock-up of Dumbledore's ghost. That particular memory had been buried behind a wall labelled Do Not Think About, along with a lot of other things.

Yet here they all were still, lurking around Headquarters with nothing much to do. Minerva's idea. She wanted them all in more or less the same place while they worked to get Hogwarts up and running once more, and given that Severus' already rather dilapidated house had fallen into serious disrepair during the last year of the war he had decided he might as well. He still hadn't decided if he was going to go back to the school when it reopened or not; he didn't particularly want to, and it would be full of bad memories, and none of the returning students were going to want him there, but he could be useful and he didn't really want to do anything else either.

He had been planning to spend the evening in the library as he quite often did, but to his displeasure it was occupied by none other than the thrice-damned Golden Trio. Severus grew physically uncomfortable whenever he was in the same room as all three of them – alone none of them could face him, and two of them could be coped with, but all three together were a sharp reminder that _they knew everything. _Mercifully Potter had kept a lot of the details private, but his little friends had seen the whole bloody lot. Not for the first time, or the last, Severus cursed himself; if he'd known he was going to survive he wouldn't have given the brat most of those memories.

Still, it was done now, and he pushed it to the back of his mind as he stalked into the room. The instant guilty silence said very clearly that they had been talking about him; ignoring all three of them as contemptuously as possible, he strode to the nearest shelf and picked up the first book that looked like it would hold his attention for more than a couple of pages before turning on his heel and stalking out again. He then promptly stopped and leaned against the wall just out of sight of the door and started eavesdropping, on general principles.

"Y'know, I thought he'd have changed now," Weasley said. "The war's over."

"It wasn't the war that made him such a foul git, though," Potter replied. "He always was, long before we went to school. Your brothers warned you about him, didn't they?"

"Yeah, I know, but... we know why, now. Shouldn't that make him – well, not friendly, but... I dunno, a bit less nasty?"

"What planet do you live on, Ron?" Granger asked, sounding amused. "It's Snape. He's always going to be nasty. That's how the world works."

The three of them exchanged laughs as Severus listened dispassionately. It wasn't as if any of this was new. Growing bored, he was about to leave when Potter suggested, "He should find something to make him less miserable, then, shouldn't he?"

"Like what?" Weasley asked.

"Getting laid, maybe."

"Oh, Merlin, the mental images! Thank you, Harry, I did _not _need that thought!"

Severus rolled his eyes and started to walk away as Granger commented, "There might be a problem there."

"Well, yeah, I can give you a list of several!"

"Shut up, Ron. Think about it. He's always been focused on one woman, since he was a boy. I doubt he'd have looked elsewhere even if he had the opportunity."

Potter burst out laughing. "You mean Snape's a _virgin_?" he asked with all the cockiness of a boy who'd finally managed to dodge his girlfriend's mother long enough to have sex only a couple of months ago. Weasley was laughing too, which Severus found mildly irritating. He was certain none of them could exactly be called experienced, and although this wasn't the first time he'd heard this theory, he found it stung more coming from people who knew about Lily. It was annoyingly plausible.

"Probably, yes," Granger agreed; he couldn't hear if she was laughing or not over Weasley's hysterics, but she certainly sounded amused, and his temper flared. It took a lot of self control not to storm back in there and confront them, but getting angry now would only make them think they were right and he'd be damned if he was going to do that. He was, however, determined to prove otherwise, and stalked off fuming and scheming back to his room.

Kicking the door shut behind him, he glared at the wall, seriously insulted. He didn't mind what anyone thought of his temperament, his looks or his personality, but being labelled a virgin at his age by three smug arrogant teenagers was just pathetic. The problem was there was no real way to disprove it, since all his lovers had been Muggles and he doubted he remembered any of their full names anyway; he certainly wasn't in contact with any of them.

For some reason it was Granger's attitude that was most annoying. The boys were both witless, but he felt as though the girl should have known better somehow or at least given him the benefit of the doubt. He didn't recall actively offending her recently, so the attack hadn't really been necessary. Well, fine then, he decided angrily. He _wasn't _a virgin, and if the insufferable know-it-all thought otherwise, he would just have to prove to her that she was wrong.

* * *

It took Severus three days to actually act on his impulsive plan. Partly he needed the time to get his courage up, because one misstep here would undo all the goodwill his deathbed confessions had won from the Order and he'd be thrown out in the cold again. Partly he wanted a little time for his temper to cool slightly, because there was no way in hell he ever wanted to combine anger and sex; that was a very definite no. And partly he was intrigued to find that the impulse wasn't quite as absurd as it had seemed and that he actually did like her; now that he was paying attention and looking at her as a young woman and not an annoying former student, Hermione Granger had grown up quite nicely while he wasn't looking, and for some reason seemed to hit most of his buttons. That was very interesting, and promised to make this little scheme more fun. Besides, it wasn't as if he had anything better to do or think about at the moment.

As usual in the evenings, most of those in residence had gathered downstairs in the kitchen and living room and were being both loud and irritating. Severus usually hid in either his room or the library, as did Granger – they appeared to have quite a bit in common, now he was looking closely. Now he ghosted down the hallways, automatically stepping to avoid the places where the floorboards creaked – people often commented on his stealth, but it was nothing more than care and observation – until he could see through her half-open bedroom door; she was sitting cross-legged on the bed, leaning against the wall and reading. He probably didn't have long before she realised someone was there, so he took a hasty moment to observe her while he was still unseen.

At first glance there wasn't much to see, truthfully. She was wearing jeans and an old t-shirt, nothing special, and had carelessly tied her explosion of curly hair back in a loose tail just to keep it off her face. Certainly not the look of a young woman who wanted to seem attractive, but perversely he liked that; it made it easier to see the real woman, not the trappings. Three days – and nights – of thinking about her had heightened the anticipation to the point where he had begun to wonder about the accuracy of his memory, but no, her figure was as he remembered, with the promise of some sweet curves under the casual clothing – although no doubt she thought she was overweight. She really didn't look much like the girl he remembered whenever he looked at her before; then again, she was nineteen now and had things gone to plan would have finished school. She was an adult now, which was something of a relief; part of him hadn't really been comfortable with this plan simply because of how much younger she was. As it was, he saw nothing to make him feel guilty, and a lot to interest him.

His pleasant observation was interrupted by movement from inside the room; her ugly ginger cat had been sleeping at the foot of the bed and now uncurled and stretched slowly before hopping to the floor and sauntering to the door. Granger didn't even look up, obviously used to her familiar's comings and goings, as the animal nudged the door slightly wider and ambled into the corridor; the beast then sat down, wrapped his fluffy tail around his paws, and subjected Severus to the most penetrating stare he had ever experienced when Legilimency wasn't involved. Severus stared back at the cat for what seemed like quite a long time before to his surprise it sniffed, stood up and walked past him with its squashed nose in the air and tail held high, leaving him to it. That was very interesting, given what little he knew of Kneazles and crossbreeds; he smirked, deciding to take it as a good omen, and returned his attention to the bedroom.

Stepping forward, he nudged the door with the toe of his boot, pushing it inwards as he shifted to lean against the doorframe and folded his arms across his chest, swallowing his smirk. "Good evening," he remarked coolly as Granger looked up, reading the flicker of emotions across her face – surprise, puzzlement, a momentary flash of guilt that was hastily suppressed.

"Good evening," she replied slowly, leaning forward to put her book on the bedside table – had she been wearing a lower-cut top he would have been given a very nice view; pity – before straightening up and looking at him warily. "Can I help you?"

He heard the tiny hesitation at the end of the sentence, the unspoken _sir _or _Professor, _in some amusement; the younger Order members didn't know how to address him any more. He wasn't their teacher now, but none of them seemed to be comfortable with just saying Snape, and nobody was brave enough or friendly enough to use his first name any more, and so they tended to not call him anything at all – at least to his face. Just as well, really; he didn't mind the age difference as such but he really didn't need to be reminded of their former differing status. The whole naughty schoolgirl thing wasn't his kink.

"I was wondering if you could enlighten me," he drawled softly, watching her eyes, "about the details of a _fascinating _conversation I happened to overhear a few days ago."

She tried to suppress the blush, but with only partial success, before giving him an innocent look. "Which conversation would that be?"

Severus chuckled darkly, amused to see her shiver when he did so; ever since his voice had broken he had never grown tired of watching how people reacted to it, and he had learned how to use it perfectly by now. "Come now, Granger; we are the two smartest people in this building by a _considerable _margin," he purred. "Let us not insult one another by pretending to be stupid. You know exactly which conversation I am referring to."

Embarrassment touched faintly with guilt flowed through her eyes – they were expressive, now he was this close – but she controlled the rest of her expression and managed to remain calm as she replied with only the faintest tremble to her voice, "Well? You can't be surprised."

"Surprised, no; disappointed, yes. I expected better from you, Granger – I've been hearing the same tired insults for decades from people far stupider than you."

"Then you should have done something about it before," she retorted, with a more noticeable waver to her voice – this sort of defiance didn't come easily to her, not unless she was already furious. He smirked, appreciating the flash of spirit in her eyes; this really did promise to be a lot of fun, if he could turn that fire elsewhere.

"Please," he replied witheringly. "Why on earth would I still be a virgin? I may not be the most emotionally developed man, it is true, but I am smart enough to know that love and sex are completely separate concepts. Besides, Lily has been dead for almost twenty years, and I was never naive enough to save myself for her in any case." The reference might have hurt more had he not mostly been thinking with his lower brain at this point.

"You've hardly been fending women off with a stick, though, have you?" she shot back, beginning to look a little angrier as the blush spread. _I wonder how far down that flush goes? _he mused, looking her over speculatively before replying rather pointedly.

"Not at Hogwarts, no. Hardly surprising, I'm sure you'll agree, given the fare on offer there."

"You really are arrogant, aren't you?" she snapped. "Looked in a mirror lately?"

"Every morning," he replied calmly, smirking. "I don't believe you're shallow enough to think it's all about looks, Granger. Unless you're trying to sound like an idiot, I would stop talking. My sexual experience is none of your business, but I assure you, I am _not _a virgin – not even close." In fact, he realised, he had lost his virginity several years before she was born, but she had blushed truly scarlet and his thoughts abruptly took a new turn. "Can we say the same about you, though?"

"_What?_"

Severus chuckled softly, delighted by this possible new twist – it would complicate his plan, but it was still wonderfully amusing. "There are few reasons why a young woman of nineteen blushes and stammers when the word _sex _is mentioned, Granger, and from what I recall you were phrasing things very carefully during that conversation I spoke of. Goodness me... it seems you are the last person to be speculating about anyone else's virginity."

Still blushing, she leaped off the bed and glared at him in outrage, her eyes filled with brown fire that he was further amused to discover he liked rather a lot. "You bastard," she hissed. "I'm not – not a..."

He snickered. "You can't even say it. I knew that gossip in the papers had to be rubbish. Little Miss Bookworm, turning into the slut of the decade? You are far too innocent for that. It seems you are a complete innocent, in fact..."

Granger glared at him and snarled through gritted teeth in a low voice, cheeks flaming, "I am not a virgin." _Now you know how I felt when you said it about me. _She had also just given him the opening he needed.

"Prove it," he challenged, lowering his voice to a throaty purr, absently noticing that the damage to his throat made it sound a lot huskier than he had intended it to be. That could prove useful later, but right now he was watching her reaction as her eyes widened in shock.

"...What?"

"I said, prove it," he repeated softly, taking a step closer, and he was startled to see her pupils dilate suddenly. He hadn't expected that response so soon – he had assumed this plan would take weeks or even months of chasing before he wore her down, but apparently he had slightly misjudged what he had overheard... He laughed suddenly, not for effect but real honest laughter. "Well now, that changes things... I'm impressed, Granger. That was almost Slytherin of you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You knew I was listening."

The blush had been fading, but now it came back full force; she was trying to look confused, but there was no puzzlement in her eyes. She knew exactly what he meant, and he laughed again as she protested, trying not to stammer, "I didn't!"

"Oh, yes, you did," he murmured, delighted with this unexpected turn of events. "You wanted me to overhear. You wanted this to happen, didn't you? You were hoping I would confront you." He regarded her through hooded eyes, watching embarrassment turning to anger touched with nerves on her face even as her eyes darkened slightly. _Oh, yes, _he thought to himself as she unconsciously licked her lips_. _Why the hell Granger wanted him, he really couldn't say, but she did; which certainly simplified matters. He wasn't too proud to turn down a pity fuck, if that's what this was, and if it turned out to be curiosity or a liking for bad boys then so much the better. "Well, it seems you have your wish..." He stepped closer again, close enough to touch now, and dropped his voice still further. "Be careful what you wish for."

She swallowed hard, staring at him. If he gave her time to be nervous or to think too much this was going to be a disaster; closing the distance between them, he snaked an arm around her waist to pull her closer and slid his other hand into her hair before pressing his mouth to hers.

"You bastard," she gasped against his mouth. Despite the anger in her voice, she made absolutely no attempt to pull away, and she was kissing him back almost before she had finished speaking, tilting her head a little as her lips moved against his.

"I know," he murmured against her lips, tracing his tongue along the seam of her mouth. "And you like it." That was a guess, but there had to be _something _she liked about him, and it obviously wasn't his looks. She opened her mouth to reply and he deepened the kiss before she could, closing his eyes and tightening his hand in her hair to keep her head still as he explored her mouth. Her curls were a lot softer than the frizz made them seem, he noticed absently, more focused on trying to feel if she was tense or not – if he'd misjudged this and she did try to get away, he needed to be paying enough attention to realise and let her go. It turned out to be unnecessary; she made an angry little growling sound before melting against him, sliding her arms around his neck as her tongue found his. At least she knew how to kiss; if she actually had been an inexperienced virgin he would have had to make himself stop at this point, and he really, really didn't want to.

Letting her take control of the kiss, he backed her across the room to her bed, both of them wavering when she almost lost her balance. Sliding the arm that had been around her waist downwards, he cupped her arse in his hand, smirking slightly into the kiss; he'd been right about her curves, it seemed. Tugging the tie out of her hair and letting her curls spill down her back, he pulled away to look down into her widely dilated brown eyes, feeling his heart beating faster and his temperature beginning to increase; the look on her face sent a jolt straight to his groin and he smiled slowly before leaning down to kiss her again, pushing her down onto the bed and crawling onto it with her.

Severus hadn't had any definite plans for how he wanted this to go – he hadn't thought it would happen this soon, and he hadn't been sure it would happen at all – but he had wanted to maintain at least a little dignity and, hell, rationality. That was a vain hope, it seemed, since his subconscious was fully aware that he had never slept with anyone who had the faintest idea who – and what – Severus Snape was; all his previous trysts had been with Muggle women because he would never have wanted anyone who wanted to fuck a Death Eater, and he hadn't realised how powerfully that was going to affect him. He had also underestimated the strength of his libido; it had been a long time since he'd had sex that didn't involve his own hand, and he was in danger of completely losing his mind at this rate as he kissed her hungrily.

Biting her lower lip, he slid a hand under her shirt, twisting slightly to kick his boots off and to try and ease a little of the pressure on his erection at the same time. When his hand cupped her breast through her bra she gasped and writhed, her whole body stiffening for a moment as her fingers dug into his shoulders. Breaking the kiss, he moved his mouth elsewhere, nipping and nibbling at her throat and ear and listening to her breathless reactions as she started fumbling with the buttons on his coat. He wouldn't have worn it if he'd realised this was going to happen, since the damned thing wasn't designed to be removed quickly, and he had to leave off his explorations to help her, struggling impatiently out of it before returning to the attack.

Pulling her t-shirt up over her head, he couldn't help but smirk again as his eyes took in the view; every bit as good as he had hoped. The unmistakeable glittering shimmer of two scar-concealing charms – one across her sternum above her cleavage and one on the inside of her forearm – gave him a moment's pause, but he was far more interested in her breasts at this point and promptly began to explore the newly exposed flesh. As an afterthought he non-verbally cancelled his own scar-concealers; she certainly already knew about the snakebite and the Dark Mark, and given her scars he saw no reason to hide the others, especially not when her breath was hitching with every move he made and she whimpered and jerked when his mouth closed over one nipple through her bra.

By the time he moved to the other she was in danger of pulling some of his hair out, jumping and twitching and shaking under him. Trying to catch his breath, Severus lifted his head to look at her again. "Granger," he rasped, sure that the huskiness in his voice had nothing to do with the snakebite by now, "are you sure you're not a virgin?"

"What?" She sounded completely out of breath, staring up at him in surprise that was threatening to turn to anger again. "Of course I'm sure!"

Raising an eyebrow, he reached out and cupped her breast gently, passing his thumb across her stiffened nipple through the fabric, and her eyes squeezed shut for a moment as she bit back a whimper. "You're as jumpy as if you were sitting on an electric wire," he murmured. "You're acting as though you've never experienced foreplay before. Who the hell have you been sleeping with, then?" He paused as the obvious answer struck him and snorted a laugh. "Oh, Christ. It's only been Weasley, hasn't it?"

It turned out the blush really did go all the way down. He suspected he had killed the mood a little, but that wasn't necessarily a problem. She couldn't even look at him as she nodded, anger yielding to embarrassment; biting back further mockery, he leaned up on his elbow over her, brushing her hair back from her face and turning her head to kiss her gently. "No one deserves that for their first time."

"It wasn't like that," she protested, turning her face away. "He wasn't – bad, it's just... it was always..."

"Over too soon," he guessed, "and not much in the way of preliminaries?"

Crimson-faced now, she nodded, still not looking at him. "He tried," she mumbled, "but..."

Severus laid his fingers over her lips. "I don't really want to know. He's young. He'll learn. Be grateful, Hermione," he added, deliberately using her first name in lieu of apologising for the uncomfortable conversation. "You were wasted on him anyway. Now," he continued before she could answer, turning her head back to him more firmly, "you should be very thankful that I am not in fact a virgin and that I do know what I'm doing." He gave her his most arrogant smirk and saw the irritated amusement in her eyes before she relented and let him kiss her. "Just relax," he murmured against her lips, shifting position and settling more comfortably on his side as things slowed down. He preferred the more gradual approach anyway.

She was still a little jumpy and skittish under his touch as his hand began to wander, but she already seemed calmer, pressing closer against him and closing her eyes as they kissed again. He raised no objections when she began to undo his shirt, running his hand down her back and over her buttocks to her thigh and drawing her hips closer to his as he broke the kiss to nuzzle and nip at the sensitive places he had found on her neck earlier; she hissed softly when her hands found the first scar and he completely ignored her reaction, refusing to let himself tense or flinch and focusing on her skin instead.

Tentatively she laid a hand over the raised scars on his neck, still a little tender; it had only been a few months since he'd been bitten. Pointedly shifting out from under her touch – he didn't really like anything touching his neck now; just wearing clothing that hid the scar bothered him – Severus licked the rim of her ear before murmuring, "Those charms might fool a teenage boy, but they don't work on me."

"I..."

"Ssh," he soothed, kissing her neck. "I don't care, so you shouldn't." Hypocritical of him to say so, since he hated all of his, but he'd earned his psychological hang-ups. Sitting up, he undid the last few buttons of his shirt and shrugged it off his narrow shoulders before leaning down, nudging her onto her back and holding himself above her as he found her mouth once more. The sensation of her hands sliding over the scars on his back was extremely foreign, but not unpleasant – just the opposite, he realised in some surprise, unconsciously arching against her touch as their kisses turned hungrier once more.

"So," he murmured against her collarbone, trailing his fingertips up her spine to her bra strap and trying to feel how it was fastened without having to look, "what made you decide to try and lure me to your bed, hm?"

Her blush was warm against his skin as she laughed softly, growing more relaxed and more excited at the same time. "You didn't need to phrase it like that..."

"Of course I didn't," he replied dryly, shifting to press his hips against her, stroking his erection against her thigh as he started undoing the hooks of her bra. "However, I find that I enjoy making you blush. And it is remarkably easy to do so. You also haven't answered the question," he added. "Please tell me it isn't because you actually thought I really was a virgin."

"No." Squirming pleasurably against him, Hermione stroked his back. "I'm not really sure," she said finally, her breath hitching for a moment as the last hook came undone. "Realising how little I really knew about you, how much I'd never seen... I was thinking about everything while you were in hospital. And you've been – different – since then. Less angry, less... frightening," she admitted, half-laughing, before falling silent as he raised himself up on his elbows to gently pull her bra from her.

"Keep talking," he murmured, his eyes slowly tracing the curves of her breasts as he reached down to start undoing his trousers, trying to ease some of the pressure on his aching erection. It was none of her business how he'd been since the end of the war, not at the moment, and his psychological scars and coping methods had no place here. He had far more important things on his mind right now, watching her breasts rise and fall with every breath.

"There's not much else to say," she replied in a breathy voice. "I was – curious to find out more about you, I suppose, and... you must have been so alone..."

_Just like you, perhaps, _Severus filled in silently, deciding that he really didn't care why any more and putting a stop to further conversation by dipping his head to take one of her nipples into his mouth; the move elicited a startled squeak that turned into a soft sound of pleasure, and he grinned as he suckled gently, closing his eyes and reaching up to cup her other breast in his hand. _Weasley, you're a fool to have thrown this away. And I'm going to make sure you know it by the time I'm done._

Absently kissing the concealed scar as he switched sides, he was taken a little by surprise when she reached down to cup him through his half-unfastened trousers, his hips jerking for a moment as his breath caught. Her indrawn breath sounded surprised, almost, and he lifted his head just to see if her expression really did imply he was bigger than Weasley, trying and failing to hold back a smirk.

"You smug, arrogant bastard," she told him, blushing yet again but grinning.

"Yes," he agreed, before her smile turned mischievous; he gasped softly as she gripped his length and gave him a firm squeeze, arching his back to push his hips against her hand. Maybe it wasn't entirely Weasley's fault that he apparently hadn't lasted long; once she had her mind set on something, Hermione Granger was a very dangerously determined young woman. And Severus liked it, a lot. "Wicked woman," he murmured, kissing her and pointedly reaching down to remove her hand. "Behave yourself." Linking his fingers through hers as his tongue entered her mouth again, his other hand found the button of her jeans, unfastening it and working the zip down as she bucked up against him.

She was getting jumpier again now, fidgeting and wriggling under him and whimpering wordless encouragement as he slowly wormed his hand under her jeans and started to push them down over her hips. He could smell her arousal and it made his body tighten, sending shivers down his back; God, how long had it been since anyone had wanted him? Letting her kick her jeans away once they were low enough, he trailed his fingers slowly up the length of her thigh, loving the way she shivered as goosebumps rippled visibly across her skin. Resting his fingers over the pulse right at the top of her inner thigh, feeling the heated dampness of her skin, he smiled and leaned up to whisper in her ear, "I trust you do at least know how this feels?"

Hermione seemed too far gone for embarrassment now, digging her nails into his shoulders as she twisted under him and lifted her hips, breathing harder. "Yes," she hissed, obviously aroused enough now to be impatient with the slower pace.

"Good." He slid two fingers under the edge of her knickers, almost startled at just how wet she was and wondering absently just when she and Weasley had broken up and how many not very good sexual encounters there had been. She was more wound up and edgy than any woman he'd ever been with, if the mewling cry she gave at even this light touch was any indication, and he found himself grinning again. _I'm going to make you scream, Granger._

Sitting up, beginning to breathe a little raggedly himself now and relieved to be an Occlumens because otherwise his self control would have been in shreds ages ago, he slowly worked her knickers down as she writhed beneath him, trying to help and utterly failing. She was gasping and whimpering now, more vocal and eager than most people would have expected from the quiet bookworm always raising her hand in class – it was, however, exactly what Severus expected from the girl who had set fire to his leg in her first year. This was the _real _Hermione, the one that only showed when she didn't have time to think too hard or when she finally grew sick of holding back. She had spent six years driving him mad and one year saving the world from the mess he was partly responsible for. And now she was driving him mad in entirely new ways, and he fucking loved it.

He pulled back once she was completely naked just to look at her. Her fair skin was still freckled and lightly tanned in places from the summer, beginning to glisten with sweat now as her breasts heaved; her impossible hair was turning from curls to frizz and looked damp at her hairline; her face was flushed, her eyes wide and dilated, her mouth slightly open and her legs apart. She looked absolutely incredible to his eyes, and the sheer surreal nature of the situation hit him suddenly because women like this did not end up sprawled naked and eager in front of him. Not even drunk.

Severus really didn't care right now. That was his old life, and it had all been total shit, and it was about time the new life started to look a bit more hopeful. Moving to hold his body over her once more, he leaned down and kissed her again, trailing his fingers up the inside of her thigh and deliberately pausing just shy of touching her properly just to make her squirm under him. Growling a curse into his mouth that a young woman really shouldn't know, she dug her fingers into his back hard enough for him to feel the bite of her nails and bucked her hips against his hand, whimpering. "Please..."

For a moment he was tempted to make her say it, but dirty talk had never particularly excited him, and if he made her too frantic she might well hex him; besides, the anticipation and the teasing had him sweating too now and fighting to control his breathing. All he actually wanted to do at this point was shove his trousers down and take her, but for all her squirming and gasping, she wasn't there yet; besides, once she came to her senses this was _highly _unlikely to happen again, and he wanted to make it memorable for both of them. Moving his mouth to her neck once more, he brought his hand higher, finally tracing her sex with his fingertips and smiling against her skin as he felt just how desperate she was and listened to her soft half-strangled cry.

Biting gently at the soft skin of her throat and suckling at the sensitive spot under her ear, he began to stroke and tease, slowly at first, letting her responses tell him what she liked and how she liked it, since she was in no condition to tell him herself. Christ, she was pent up, tense and shaking and twitchy; soothing the love bite with his tongue, Severus closed his eyes, focusing on his sense of touch as he began to increase the pressure and touch her more firmly. After a few moments he twisted his body to one side and pressed against her, holding her against him, murmuring wordlessly against her skin as he bent his head to kiss her breasts once more.

Gradually Hermione's breathless whimpers became soft moans as she began to relax into his touch, her hips beginning to move more regularly as they both grew more used to one another and he learned how she responded. He hadn't expected her to be quite this vocal, but he certainly wasn't complaining. Belatedly he realised he hadn't warded the door, or even closed it, but there was no way he was stopping to worry about it now as he took her nipple between his teeth and sucked before he bit down very gently and she cried out, panting in his ear and bucking under him.

Finally he found her mouth once more, kissing her deeply as he turned his hand and slowly slid first one and then two fingers inside her. _Oh, Merlin, she's tight... _He was really going to have to be careful, by the feel of things. And half the battle might well be to keep Hermione calm, as her whole body arched and she cried out louder than she had been so far, her hips jerking and her nails biting into his back even harder. He flexed his fingers, moving slowly, searching for those particular nerve endings; it wouldn't take much now, she was close. Pushing his fingers deeper, he twisted them inside her, moving his thumb to stroke her at the same time, and felt her starting to tremble. "That's it," he murmured, lifting his head to look down at her. "Go on...let go..."

He watched, fascinated, as she did just that; the past few years had taught her to be guarded and controlled, but that had gone now and he could see every last flicker of emotion playing across her face as her eyes widened and she threw her head back, her whole body twisting and bucking. When she cried out her voice rose to almost a scream, completely unrestrained as her body tightened around his fingers and he felt the spasms rippling through her, and Severus was a little surprised to hear himself groan softly, entranced by the sight of her coming apart so completely in his hands.

Hermione slumped back against the pillows with her eyes closed, gasping for breath, and he sat back to let her recover, smirking a little smugly to himself as he watched her through hooded eyes. _'Virgin', indeed. Hmph. _As her eyelashes fluttered open and she blinked dazedly at him, he put his fingers in his mouth and made a show of sucking them clean, amused at her wide-eyed expression before she swallowed hard. She tasted sweet, and he'd bet his wand she'd never had a man go down on her before; ordinarily he would have left that for later, especially since he was so hard now that it almost hurt, but the whole point of this was to show off the fact that he was absolutely not inexperienced. At least, that had been the point originally, but he wasn't sure it still was. Pushing the thought away, he gave her a feral grin and pointedly licked his lips, watching her shiver.

Leaning in, Severus kissed her rather more gently than he had done earlier, letting her get her breath back and come down from the high of her climax. He stifled a soft laugh when her hand trailed down his stomach, amused to feel himself shiver in response, and gently caught her fingers as she reached his half-undone trousers. "Be patient," he murmured, nuzzling at her neck as he firmly removed her hand. "I'm not done yet."

"But..."

"Patience, I said," he repeated, smiling a little as he saw the confusion in her eyes. "All in good time." _I love Occlumency. _Without that tight mental control of his body, he would probably already have spent himself like a teenager. He was somewhat uncomfortable at the moment, true, but this was more than worth it. Kissing the bruise he had left on her throat, he nibbled at her collarbone, shifting his weight to his knees and elbows and beginning to slither backwards down the bed, and almost laughed when he heard her soft wondering gasp as she realised what he was doing.

Slowly he worked his way down her body, lingering at her breasts and nuzzling at the soft skin of her stomach as he settled himself comfortably between her thighs, twisting his hips and curling his limbs to stay on the bed before gently easing her legs further apart. Hermione was shivering and twitchy again, and when he looked up along the length of her body he saw the almost desperate anticipation in her eyes coloured with a faint hint of nerves; he had no idea what his expression looked like as he studied her body, now completely open to his gaze, but it made her blush once more before he slowly lowered his head.

Severus had been having sex for years before anyone had bothered to tell him that he wasn't supposed to enjoy this. Since then he'd heard all the jokes, and had concluded that most of them came from men who'd never tried it and the rest must come from men who'd been with some truly disgusting women. It wasn't particularly difficult and it certainly wasn't unpleasant, at least in his experience, but he'd lost count of the women who had wonderingly informed him nobody else they'd slept with had been willing to even try it without weeks of nagging.

He had been planning to bring her to climax again if he could, but she clearly hadn't felt anything like this before, and the first pass of his tongue had her almost convulsing; she was far too skittish. Maybe later he'd be able to take his time and do things properly; for now he'd settle for seeing what sort of noises he could coax from her, grinning to himself as she squeaked and seized a handful of his hair almost painfully. Settling more comfortably on his elbows as he nudged one leg up to rest on his shoulder, he began experimenting, licking and sucking gently as he listened to her soft cries gradually getting louder – it seemed she really was a bit of a screamer. God, she was reacting beautifully – after a few moments he had to bring a hand up to keep her thighs apart, or he ran the risk of being strangled, and she tasted wonderful.

It didn't take long before Hermione's cries were interspersed with incoherent pleading noises as her hands tightened painfully in his hair and she dragged his head up forcibly. Letting her, he followed her lead and crawled back up the bed in response to her tugging, licking his lips before making a point of leaning down to kiss her and letting her taste herself in his mouth. She made a strangled sound as she kissed him back, unknotting her fingers from his hair before gasping as his fingers slid between her legs once more. His touch drew a throaty moan from her that sent a shudder down his spine, and Severus' patience snapped completely. Right now he needed to be inside her more urgently than he had wanted anything in a very long time, and he hastily slid off the bed and stood up to finish undoing his trousers and peel the last of his clothing away, so focused now that he barely noticed the look on her face as he stripped – truthfully he didn't want to know; he knew what he looked like already, thank you.

Crawling back onto the bed, he stretched out beside her and drew her into his arms, kissing her hungrily and hoping not to give her time to stop and think – this was the point where it could all fall apart, if it was going to. He was glad to feel her arms twine around his neck once more as she returned the kiss and let himself relax, shifting to press his body against hers and luxuriating for a moment in the feel of bare silky skin against his own; it really had been far too long since he'd had this sort of contact with anyone. As they kissed she rolled onto her back once more, drawing him down on top of her, her breasts pressing against his chest as she arched beneath him invitingly; shivering in pleasure, he closed his eyes for a moment and settled over her, taking his weight on his elbows.

He paused for a moment to look down at her beneath him, moving to grind his pelvis against hers as she spread her legs; it drew a soft sound from her as she stared up at him, running her hands down his back and shifting impatiently under him. Unable to quite stop the smile, he reached between them to guide himself into position and slowly flexed his hips, closing his eyes as he entered her and trembling with the effort of not simply thrusting. Fully inside her, he released a ragged breath and opened his eyes to find hers were closed, her face slack with pleasure as she flexed and shivered around him.

Severus was quite proud of himself for maintaining some semblance of control as he began to move. He was breathing hard now and although he had originally planned to last long enough to bring her again, he didn't think it was possible; just forcing himself to be slow and gentle until she had adjusted to him was going to take a lot of effort. Especially since she was still sensitive from her climax and all his playing and was whimpering and shifting under him, trying to get him to move faster; finally he couldn't hold back any more and thrust, drawing a louder cry from her before she bit his shoulder as her hips bucked. He hadn't picked her for a biter, but her nails were digging into his buttocks and he couldn't help but grin; Little Miss Bookworm promised to be wonderfully uninhibited with a little more experience. He just might have to pursue this and find out.

Soon it rapidly became impossible to think at all, as his world narrowed until all his focus was on the two of them. It took a few moments before they began to find some semblance of a rhythm, awkwardly pushing and thrusting against one another before suddenly they had it. His hand dug into her hip as he moved, gasping for breath and every nerve ending on fire as she moaned in his ear and began to pant, matching each sharp movement of his hips. He hadn't felt so alive in years as the pleasure built and sweat trickled down his back. Shifting his weight, he freed one hand to touch her, caressing her breasts before skimming down her belly to stroke between her legs; no, he couldn't last long enough for her to come again, she wasn't close enough, but as she moaned again and tangled her hands in his hair and pulled his head down for a hungry kiss he didn't think it mattered.

Time had slipped away at some point and he was completely lost in their lovemaking, in the feel of her under and around him, her wide brown eyes filled with fire and passion, their gasps and moans and the creaking of the ancient bed as they moved together. Severus was right on the edge now, his body tightening and his vision darkening at the edges, determined to hold on for just a few moments more; he never wanted this to end. Then Hermione whispered his name in a husky voice, his _first _name, drawing out the syllables, and he was completely lost. Throwing back his head, he cried out wordlessly, shaking as something snapped and ecstasy flooded through him in searing waves of pleasure.

He had just enough presence of mind to shove himself sideways as he collapsed, slumping into the wall and sprawling against her side rather than on top of her as he buried his face in her damp frizz of hair and tried to remember how to breathe, panting hoarsely. His throat hurt, he noticed absently; the internal scars had obviously been strained by the vocalisations, especially the way he had howled at the end there, which wasn't like him. He could even feel sweat stinging a few places on his back that suggested she might have drawn blood between the scars, in addition to what felt like a bruise forming on his shoulder where she'd bitten him; that wasn't something he usually enjoyed, but it felt pretty damned good right now. He just hoped she wouldn't come to her senses and try to kick him out for a little while, because he wasn't sure he could actually move just yet.

"Well," he rasped hoarsely once he had regained enough breath to be a smart-arse, his voice quiet and husky now, "not bad for _my first time, _was it?"

"Oh, shut up," Hermione mumbled. She was completely limp and sounded almost asleep, with a lazy, satisfied purr to her voice that made him feel rather smug. "Git." She sighed contentedly. "I admit, that was pretty good."

He snorted a rough attempt at a laugh. "Pretty good, she says."

"Your ego's swollen enough already. Besides, how am I to know that wasn't just a fluke?"

_Holy hell, woman, are you trying to kill me? _Severus grinned weakly into the pillow; given the way he had almost died a few months ago, he was quite happy to go out in the middle of athletic and enthusiastic sex instead. "Ordinarily I would say that if you gave me about fifteen minutes to get my breath back I'd gladly prove it wasn't a fluke," he murmured, "but I think it might take me a little longer this time."

"If that's what you're planning you can bugger off," she replied sleepily. "I won't be able to walk if you do that again."

"I told you to be careful what you wish for," he retorted smugly, absently draping an arm over her waist and shifting closer, more relieved than otherwise; he was knackered.

"By the way, since you didn't bother asking, yes, I'm on contraception."

"Don't go all self-righteous on me now, Gryffindor, not when I've almost forgotten how annoying you can be," he murmured against her neck. "I didn't ask because I know I'm safe. I might be a bastard, but I'm a responsible bastard."

Her only response was a tired, "Hmph." They lay quietly for a few minutes, and he regained enough energy and presence of mind to manage a half-hearted cleansing charm; he was almost asleep when he felt her lift her head. "Oh, fuck." She poked his shoulder. "Severus?"

"Mm?" he mumbled in a vaguely questioning tone, too tired to manage more than that. It was nice to hear his first name again. Even his old colleagues no longer used it.

"Why is the door open?"

"Oops," he replied, completely unashamed.

"Oh, you bastard. You didn't ward it?"

"No."

"Damnit, Snape!"

"You're just as capable of silencing spells as I am, and you didn't ward it either," he pointed out sleepily, refusing to move as he felt her trying to sit up, tightening his arm around her waist. "It wasn't deliberate. By the time I remembered we were already in the middle of things. And it's a little late to be ashamed of this now," he added with an edge to his rasping voice. This was exactly the reaction he had predicted, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"It's not that," she replied tiredly. "I'm an adult and I don't think I've done anything to be ashamed of. But it's nobody else's business who I sleep with and I didn't really want anyone else knowing."

"You shouldn't have screamed so loudly then," he retorted, relaxing a little. "It's not likely anyone heard anyway unless they were already up here. And even if they did, nobody's going to dare to say anything." He grinned into her hair; nobody was going to want to confirm that it really was the greasy git who had drawn all those noises from her, or damaged the wall where the headboard had slammed into it.

"But..."

"Hermione, do shut up. We both need some sleep after that and I can't be bothered to move. I thought you'd learned not to worry about every little thing by now," he mumbled drowsily. He flicked a hand vaguely in the direction of the door, nudging it almost closed, leaving just enough of a gap for her cat to shove it open again if the animal decided to come back before morning. "If you're good and go to sleep without complaining, I'll prove it wasn't a fluke when we wake up. I have a few other tricks you haven't seen."

"What makes you so confident that it's going to happen again?" she shot back, relaxing and shifting to nestle against him, somewhat to his surprise.

He snorted tiredly. "Let me know when you get a better offer. Until then, shut up and go to sleep."

* * *

_I'm still not good at the whole PWP thing, but you can't get a lot of emotional development and build-up into a one-shot! The other prompts I owe aren't smutty, which is probably just as well._


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